This is the fourth in a series of posts on Accordance preferences. We've already covered the General and Appearance settings. Today, we'll look at the Workspace settings.

The first three options all have to do with the look and behavior of workspace zones. The active zone in a workspace is highlighted with a certain color. You can change this color by choosing a new one from the pop-up menu labeled Active Zone Color.

The next option lets you specify the maximum number of zones that can be opened in any given workspace. If you have a small screen, you may find that the third, fourth, or fifth zone that opens is too just too small to be useful. If you set the Default Maximum Zones pop-up to two, then Accordance can open no more than two zones in that workspace. If you open a resource that requires a third zone, Accordance will display that new zone in a separate workspace.

Now, even if you choose to set a maximum number of zones, that only prevents Accordance from opening more than that number of zones in a workspace. You are still free to drag a tab into a separate zone in order to create more zones than your default maximum.

Another option for small screens (or even those with large screens who like to save a little space) is Hide tab area if only a single tab. When you check this option, Accordance will show only a small title area for zones that only contain a single tab. As soon as a second tab is opened in that zone, the zone title area will increase in height to accommodate the two tabs.

Workspace with "Hide tab area" option unchecked

Workspace with "Hide tab area" option checked

The next three options have to do with how the Library and Instant Details panels operate. First, you can choose to have the Library always open as a popover rather than as a panel. Whenever you have a workspace that is too narrow or has too many zones to allow room for the Library to open as a panel, Accordance will automatically open the Library as a panel. If you want the Library to appear that way no matter how much room there is, simply check this option. Whatever your preference, you can always override it by holding down the shift key when you click the Library icon in the toolbar. In other words, if your default is to have the Library display as a panel, you can always force it to display as a popover by holding the shift key. If your default is to have it display as a popover, you can likewise force it to display as a panel.

Workspace with Library displayed as a panel

Workspace with Library displayed as a popover

If you would like the Library to be open whenever you create a new workspace, leave the previous option unchecked and check Add Library to new workspaces. If you would like the Instant Details to be displayed whenever you create a new workspace, check Add Instant Details to new workspaces.

The final option is to Limit window size of new workspaces. With this option checked, Accordance will open new workspaces at a specific size rather than having them fill the screen. If you have a really large monitor and you want Accordance to remain in one portion of the screen, you might want to consider this option.

For several years now, I've been using the Holman Christian Standard Bible (HCSB) as my primary translation. At the risk of offering an overly simplistic evaluation, I find it offers good, readable English while still preserving much of the wording and structure of the underlying Greek and Hebrew.

Another thing I like about the HCSB is that, in addition to footnotes and cross-references, it includes relatively inconspicuous bullets in front of terms which are likely to need a little explanation. In the print editions, you can look up these bulleted terms in an alphabetized listing of "Bullet Notes," but in Accordance, these bullets are automatically linked to the included HCSB Bullets module. Hover over one of these "magic bullets," and you'll see a brief explanation of the accompanying term in the Instant Details box.

For example, in yesterday's post I wrote about reading Psalm 83 with my family. The superscription of that psalm says that it is a psalm of Asaph, and the name Asaph is bulleted. By hovering over the bullet, I get a quick reminder that Asaph was appointed by David "to oversee the music used in worship at the Temple" and that eleven other psalms are attributed to him.

Other bulleted terms in Psalm 83 include "Selah," "Yahweh," and "Most High." In each case, the bullet notes are clear, concise, and extremely helpful.

Now, if you prefer another translation, you can always look up terms like these by triple-clicking them, or by selecting them and choosing a resource to consult in the Resource palette, or by right-clicking and choosing a resource from the contextual menu. Any of these methods will look up the selected word in the chosen resource. Still, it's nice that the HCSB anticipates the terms you're most likely to look up, and the "magic bullets" give you more info without even having to click.

By the way, the HCSB was actually developed with the help of Accordance. To find out more about the contribution Accordance made to this translation, open the HCSB Notes module and search the English Content field for "Accordance."